Magnetoelectric coupling via Magnetic-Field-Induced Switching in Spin Crossover Mn(III) Complexe

My presentation will focus on a non-traditional avenue to study Magnetoelectric (ME) coupling. ME coupling occurs when the magnetic field influences the electric polarization and/or the electric field influences the magnetization in a material. ME is attractive from an applications perspective in insulating materials because large power dissipation due to electric currents is eliminated. Other potential applications include magnetic sensors, data storage , electric control of magnetic qubits and more. Usually, ME coupling is studied in inorganic oxides with ordered magnetic spin orientation – (anti)ferromagnets. Here, I present our results demonstrating ME coupling in molecule-based spin crossover complexes. An applied magnetic field induces a spin state switching, that is accompanied by a change in electric polarization due to symmetry breaking phase transition. Spin crossover complexes are a large class of materials where the magnetic-field-induced switching can modify the structure and here we show that this is a route to ME coupling.